Billy Paul

By STEVE KNOPPER. Special to Newsday The title character on Vince Gill’s latest album, “Guitar Slinger,” is one of those fast-fingered, heavy-drinking cowboys you hear about in a million country songs. But in the middle of writing the song, Gill realized the title rhymed with something impossible for him to resist. So he threw in…

By Allison Stewart, Special to the Tribune These days, it’s easy for a guy like Vince Gill to get lost. He’s one of the best all-arounders in country music: a soulful singer, a dexterous songwriter, a renowned guitar player. But he’s defiantly unflashy in a genre that has increasingly come to prize overstatement. Last October,…

Vince’s NEW album GUITAR SLINGER made Engine 145’s list of Best Albums of 2011! Following up on a tour de force project like These Days is no easy task, but if anyone’s up to the task, it’s Vince Gill. On Guitar Slinger he covers a wide variety of country styles, even dabbling into soul and…

By Philip Majorins – Pop Matters Vince Gill has earned a lot of respect over the course of his illustrious Nashville career. An exemplar of the country gentleman, his sweet tones and tasteful pickings have attracted fans from both sides of the modern/classic country divide. As a session player and solo artist his credentials proceed…

By MICHAEL McCALL – The Associated Press The title of Vince Gill’s new album focuses on his instrumental skills. But the music more intently highlights another talent: songwriting. On “Guitar Slinger,” Gill concentrates on lyrics about friends and issues, turning out stories that are sometimes entertaining and often touching. Some draw on his sense of…

Beville Darden – The Boot Never has there been and never will there likely be a voice like Vince Gill’s. His unparalleled range and captivating delivery, coupled with his sublime songwriting skills, have made the Oklahoma native an unmistakable staple on country radio since the early ’80s. They’ve also earned him a trophy case full…

By Vernell Hackett – Reuters Vince Gill mixed a little truth with just enough fiction in writing the songs for his new album, “Guitar Slinger,” that hit record stores and websites on Monday marking his first CD in five years. Gill chose topics as diverse as a murder-suicide, an out-of-the way motel and “True Love”…

By Nancy Dunham – American Songwriter Vince Gills’ The Guitar Slinger is his first album since These Days, a four-CD box set that was released in 2006 and won a Grammy Award for Best Country Album. Since his last release, Gill built a recording studio and the Nashville home he shares with his wife Amy…

By Daryl Addison – GAC Vince Gill is getting personal on his new album. Very personal. In some ways, the title Guitar Slinger downplays the heavy themes that Vince confronts on his new twelve-song collection. Songs with names like “If I Die,” “Threaten Me With Heaven” and “When Lonely Comes Around” give an indication that…

by Cameron Matthews – The Boot Prolific country music star Vince Gill is prepping for the release of his first album in five years, ‘Guitar Slinger,’ which features some of the darkest songs of his career. One of those is ‘Threaten Me With Heaven,’ the CD’s first single that Vince wrote with wife Amy Grant,…